Different

You were different. That was my first impression of you.
I still remember that day. Of course I do. It was the day we were introduced to the classmates we would be sharing our four years of school life with. I was nervous, determined to make a good impression.
We played the name game. Thankfully I was nearer to the front. You know me~ I'm terrible at names.
You were the last, I think. Or near the end. I was just thankful not to be in your place. But when it got to your turn to recite our names, you simply laughed unrestrainedly, stood up, and went to each person asking them in your strange accent to repeat their names for you.
I was shocked. It was something that I could never do. I wasn't sure whether to be impressed or appalled. You were different. To me who had been striving all my life to fit in, you were very different indeed.
The you now is still pretty much the same. If we were to be in the same situation again, the me now would take comfort in that familiar unrestrained laughter. I'd still be a little embarrassed, but at the same time I'd be smiling fondly at the you who is different. At the you who is able to accept me completely as I am. Thank you for being different.